LiveRamp Launches IdentityLink for Television to Transform World’s Largest Marketing Medium

Brands, agencies, programmers and technology platforms can now execute people-based marketing at scale in $224B television industry

SAN FRANCISCO(06 Mar 2018)

LiveRamp, an Acxiom company (NASDAQ: ACXM) and leading provider of omnichannel identity resolution, brands, agencies, programmers and technology platforms IdentityLink platform to television. For the first time, today announced the extension of its will be able to execute people-based TV media planning, buying and measurement that is scalable and secure across the TV ecosystem. In turn, consumers will be able to benefit from more relevant brand interactions that are coordinated across digital and traditional channels.

“TV remains one of the most influential advertising channels today – but it’s also the least sophisticated for targeting and measurement,” said Jocelyn Lee, Head of Media Strategy and Ad Technology at Heat + Deloitte Digital. “As we move towards an increasingly cross-screen world, we need the ability to target and measure everywhere. We’re excited to see IdentityLink extending to TV for true omnichannel marketing."

“Television is no longer just television— it’s simply not enough to reach consumers through traditional linear TV since the living room is now any device,” said Amanda Martin, Director Enterprise Partnerships, Goodway Group. “In today’s world, creating a relevant and seamless consumer experience across channels is critical, and we’re thrilled that LiveRamp is bringing IdentityLink to TV to further improve targeting and the user experience."

According to International Data Corporation (IDC), TV currently accounts for $224 billion in global marketing spend.1 However, audience fragmentation in TV is becoming more prevalent due to proliferation of devices and content sources. As more than 60 percent of adults under the age of 30 primarily use streaming services delivered via over-the-top services (OTT) and connected TVs,2 advertising on those channels is projected to account for nearly half of all TV revenue by 2020.3 In addition, U.S. addressable TV ad spending is expected to double over the next two years.4 All these variables make the job of reaching a single consumer exponentially more difficult.

“IdentityLink has already transformed marketing in digital channels, allowing our customers to leverage the power of identity resolution to create more relevant interactions with consumers,” said Allison Metcalfe, General Manager of TV at LiveRamp. “We’re excited to bring these same capabilities to the world of television - including addressable TV, OTT services, connected TV, TV everywhere, video on demand and audience-based buying for linear television.”

Brands and agencies work with many partners in the marketing ecosystem to create, deliver, and measure the effectiveness of TV advertising. These partners also benefit heavily from people-based marketing practices.

“As content consumption and viewing behavior continues to evolve, it is more important than ever to know the viewers, understand the household, and be able to deliver against our partners’ goals of targeting, effectiveness, and measured outcomes,” said Robert Schroko, Vice President of Data Strategy at A+E. “As viewership on connected TVs and apps continues to grow at exponential rates, A+E Networks needs to be able to capitalize on the full reach of our content and the aggregate audiences across platforms, regardless of how a viewer is choosing to engage with us. LiveRamp is well-positioned to help solve for this with its identity solutions, platform integrations, and the ability to solve for attribution.”

“TV viewing behavior is changing, and measuring advertising effectiveness in an omnichannel world is more difficult than ever before," said Greg Hampton, Vice President of Inscape. "Inscape and LiveRamp are collaborating to empower brands to make more intelligent, data- driven decisions when it comes to targeting and measurement, and we look forward to our continued partnership in solving for audience fragmentation."

“Consumer demand for helpful advertising is driving this industry forward like never before,” said Nishat Mehta, president of the IRI Media Center of Excellence. “Consumers want the right message at the right time in the right place, so we’re excited to integrate LiveRamp’s IdentityLink into our end-to-end media solutions. This technology will help consumers receive the relevant messaging they desire in a proven creative format and enable advertisers to have the insights they need to plan better campaigns, target and activate the right audiences, and measure and optimize results in TV.”

"TiVo is laser-focused on offering a superior, feature-rich, and personalized user experience to our customers across devices, and mapping the customer journey is key to meeting their needs," said Walt Horstman, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Advanced Media and Advertising at TiVo. "As traditional TV becomes more fragmented, LiveRamp is uniquely positioned to provide leading people-based solutions to improve targeting and measurement efforts in advanced TV, and we're excited to be a part of this platform solution."

"CMOs are increasingly being asked to show the ROI for each component of their media spend," said John Hoctor, CEO of Data Plus Math. "LiveRamp is uniquely positioned to help Data Plus Math's attribution platform link customer actions to TV impressions, enabling a much clearer picture of the customer journey from product awareness to eventual purchase."

"Matching iSpot's device graph and real-time ad attribution systems with LiveRamp’s identity resolution services is a big enhancement to the cross-platform marketing movement," said Sean Muller, CEO at iSpot.tv. "Now brands can extend their advanced digital segments into smarter TV buying and better ad measurement."

“Our goal is to power the creation of an omnichannel view of the consumer, which everyone in the marketing ecosystem can leverage to improve the consumer experience,” said Anneka Gupta, Co-President of LiveRamp. “Linking TV data into that view is the next key step in this journey, and we’re excited to be the first to bridge the divide between digital and linear channels.”

1. IDC, Worldwide Digital Advertising Market Model, 2Q17.
2. Survey conducted Aug 15-21, 2017. Pew Research Center
3. The Diffusion Group, The Future of OTT TV Advertising, 2014-2020
4. https://www.emarketer.com/Article/eMarketer-Releases-New-Addressable-TV-Ad-Spending-Estimates/1016153

About LiveRamp

LiveRamp offers brands and the companies they work with identity resolution that is integrated throughout the digital ecosystem, and provides the foundation for omnichannel marketing. IdentityLink transforms the technology platforms used by our clients into people-based marketing channels that improve the relevancy of marketing, and ultimately allow consumers to better connect with the brands and products they love. LiveRamp is an Acxiom company (NASDAQ: ACXM), delivering privacy-safe solutions to market and honoring the best practices of leading associations including the Digital Advertising Alliance's (DAA) ICON and App Choices programs. For more information, visit www.LiveRamp.com.